Gates besieged

After Micah 5:1-5

The troops besiege

the gates, the city

trembles, seeking

deliverance as

the soldiers scream

and shout and shake

the gates.

A cry goes up:

Who will deliver us

who will save us

from the locust army

surrounding us, ready

to devour us

A voice:

From the small

from the tiny

comes salvation

and the source is

Bethlehem

Photograph by Hakon Sataoen via Unsplash. Used with permission.

From the small

After Micah 5:1-5

From the small

comes the great,

from the too small

to be counted comes

the ruler, the king,

the fulfillment

of the promise, ancient.

The insignificant

becomes more, greater

than the mighty,

the significant paling

in comparison, not

because of what but

because of whom,

the unexpected born

of her whose time had come.

Photograph by Eric Froehling via Unsplash. Used with permission.